Open Water
by Jenn Perry
Summary: Joey muses late at night. post-True Love


Title: Open Water  
Author: Jenn Perry  
E-mail: loveyoulots@email.com  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: True Love, Escape To Witch Island,   
Crime and Punishment  
Distribution: Please Ask First  
Disclaimer: All recognized characters and situations   
belong to Kevin Williamson, The WB, and Granville   
Productions and I am in no way affiliated with them.   
All other characters and situations belong to me.  
Summary:Joey muses late at night.  
  
Props: To Maeve, for encouraging me in my dreams and   
being an awesome person-film majors rule! To   
Heather, for being on my wavelength when no one   
else is-XPFCers rule! And to Chris, thanks for   
being my Dawson while I search for my Pacey.  
  
Author Notes: I've never written for these   
characters before so your feedback is crucial to   
whether or not I write for them again. Oh, and I   
know even less about sailing than Dawson, so if I've   
made some kind of tactical error, please let me know   
how to fix it. This piece came to me last week at work   
while I was trying to hash out the next scene of my   
screenplay, but I just finished it last night.   
  
  
It was peaceful at night. The water lapped against   
the side of "True Love" as it rhythmically rocked with   
the waves. The surrounding sea had turned dark as the   
sun went down, blending the line between water and sky.   
A small breeze blew through the warm night air, teasing   
the lowered sail against the mast. A tiny sliver of moon   
did nothing to illuminate the nearby water. The   
thousands of stars above gave off only a pinpoint of light,   
making their presence known, sparkling against the   
midnight backdrop. Down in the cabin below deck,   
Joey could hear Pacey snoring faintly.  
  
Joey took a deep breath and smelled the sea air.   
The stale odor of salt and sea was familiar from all   
her years living in Capeside, but this was different.   
She filled her lungs with the ocean air. This time it   
smelled new and fresh. It smelled of promise and   
possibility. Out here in the open Atlantic, they were   
miles from anything familiar, which Joey felt, was   
exactly what she needed.  
  
Getting up from her perch on the bow of the ship,   
Joey moved quietly across the deck to the stern.   
The boat creaked as she moved, startling her and   
stopping her in her tracks. Then it was silent once   
more. She turned deliberately in a small circle taking  
in her surroundings. Blackness enveloped her on all   
sides. There were no signs of life in any direction.   
It was times like this that she could pretend she and   
Pacey were the only people in the world.  
  
Of course, it was that thought that snapped Joey   
back to reality, only to realize that this was her reality.   
Looking down at herself, she smiled. Her reality at   
this moment was more a fantasy than real life. Little   
Joey Potter was dressed in Pacey Witter's oversized   
gray T-shirt and standing on his small sailboat in the   
Atlantic Ocean, which was on its way to Florida. The   
furthest she had ever been from Capeside was Boston.   
Now she was on her way to Key West with her former   
enemy, with whom, somewhere along the way, she had   
fallen in love. It sounded more like one of those movies   
that she and Dawson used to watch than anything   
from her own life.  
  
Dawson.  
  
The emotions that had played across his face when   
he told her to go to Pacey were frozen in her mind   
and weighed heavy on her heart. The person who   
had been everything to her since she could remember   
had slowly become less important this year. Life-  
changing events had been shared with Jen or Pacey   
and then with Dawson, almost as an afterthought.   
Not only her feelings for Pacey or the subject of her   
unity mural, but little things like dealing with her   
smarmy boss at the marina or her PSAT scores.  
  
When her PSAT scores had come, Joey had waited   
twenty minutes for Pacey to ride his bike over after   
she had called him. She had stared at the envelope   
as it lay on the table, as if it were a snake, ready to   
strike. When he had finally arrived, she had made   
him open the letter. She had told him it was because   
he had been asking her if they had come every day for   
the past three weeks, but they both knew it was because   
she was so nervous that her hands wouldn't stop shaking.   
He had remained stone-faced for a brief moment after   
reading the contents to himself to make her sweat   
before a huge grin replaced it. When he read her   
scores out loud, she couldn't believe it. They had started   
screaming, laughing and jumping up and down. "Potter,   
you're brilliant!" he had said before wrapping her in a   
huge bear hug. Joey wrapped her arms around herself  
now as she looked north. Dawson hadn't asked until   
she had mentioned it on Witch Island a week later.  
  
It was rather unsettling that she wouldn't have   
Dawson to run to when she got home. Life was   
changing quickly for Joey Potter and she hoped she   
could find her way through it. She was learning every   
day how to live without Dawson, how to live on her   
own terms and go after what she wanted. There was   
now a new guy who meant everything to her and she   
was scared. Not because she wasn't sure of   
herself-she knew she made the right choice-but   
because this was the first time she really felt she   
didn't need Dawson. She felt liberated in a way she   
never thought she would have-she was finally discovering   
herself.   
  
Joey started when she felt a pair of strong arms   
encircle her waist. She sighed as she settled back   
against his bare chest. Joey had never thought   
she'd be the kind of girl who melted, but every time   
Pacey touched her, she did.  
  
"Isn't it past your bedtime, Josephine?" Pacey   
whispered in her ear.  
  
"I couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts running through   
my mind, I guess. So I came up top for some fresh air   
to clear my head. Sorry if I woke you."  
  
"What's going on, Jo?"  
  
"You know the usual-did I get the bonus right on   
my English final? Did I put the right amount of   
postage on that scholarship application? How can   
steal this shirt when we get back without you noticing?-"  
  
"You were thinking about him, weren't you?" Pacey   
interrupted, in a non-accusatory tone.  
  
Joey stopped, not knowing how to answer. He   
probably wouldn't believe her if she said no, but she   
knew he'd be hurt if she said yes. She remained   
silent.  
  
Pacey continued, "It's okay if you are. Hell, I thought   
about him all day when I wasn't thinking those impure   
thoughts about you in that bikini." Joey elbowed him,   
but felt a blush rise on her cheeks. "Face it,   
yesterday, we lost our best friend, possibly for good.   
That's huge," he paused. "If we break up when we get   
home, he's not going to be there to pick up the pieces.   
And I don't think Capeside is ready for the dynamic   
duos of Joey and Jen or Pacey and Jack."  
  
Joey smiled in spite of herself, picturing a world   
where that could happen.  
  
"It just puts a lot of pressure on a situation that   
already has plenty of pressure. I'm sure it's only a   
matter of time before the pressure makes us crack   
and proves him right," Pacey concluded.  
  
"Pace, you're right, I was thinking about him, but not   
like that. I know I made the right decision and I'm   
grateful to Dawson for giving me the push I needed   
to tell you how I feel. I'm just hoping time can heal   
Dawson's broken heart." Joey turned around in his   
arms to face him. "For the past year or so, I was   
looking for myself, trying to discover who I am. And   
as crazy as it sounds, I think I found myself in you.   
You can read me better than anyone. You know when   
to push and when to let go. You encourage me,   
challenge me, and love me in a way that no one else   
has before. I like the person that I am when I'm   
with you. I know I didn't make a mistake when I   
picked you, Pacey. You're the one for me."  
  
Joey looked deep into his eyes, hoping he knew she   
meant every word. Pacey brushed a hair off her face   
and held her head in his hands, studying her. He leaned   
in after a moment and kissed her soundly. Joey was   
breathless when he pulled back.  
  
"Come to bed, Jo."  
  
The End.  
  
Anyone for a sequel? You know what to do:  
Loveyoulots@email.com  



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